PC Major Factions
There are six major groups which boast the largest amount of control, influence, and power in Paradise City. The first and foremost group is the Enforcers Guild, but they get their own entry elsewhere. The other five are the Montego Family, the Dragonmark Banking Clan, the Paradise Lovers, the Brethren of Rum and Blood, and the Candy Men. Each of these groups controls a different, critical aspect of Paradise City's infrastructure. The Montego Family The Montegos are an old crime family, dating back to before the Federation crumbled. They were one of the first criminal groups to start working with the police during the Wars, and the strongest group to survive the conflict. Their efforts and skill at rallying people to a common cause made them significant contributors during the reconstruction efforts, and when Old Town was overrun they were the first to start assisting in evacuations; It is often considered fate that the Family is so closely tied to the Haljrans and their well being. The old Don, Gustav Montego, was a close friend and ally of Cartwright's, and even though he was a born crook it is known that he offered many suggestions and insights into developing a new legal system and laws to go with it. How many of these actually took remain unknown to this day. Before Gustav passed on, the Montegos were well on their way to becoming the most powerful family in the City; a direct result of their close ties to the Guild, to the common folk, and to their arena of business- the arms industry. The Montegos dominate a considerable chunk of the City's markets, both legal and illicit. Racketeering, casinos, the manufacture, trade, and sale of weapons, these have all made the Family quite wealthy. It affords them to have the best armed and best dressed personnel, but it also means they sit in the highest tax bracket- which is something they consider an honor, as it implies they are the most successful. This pride has made them one of the most financially liberal groups, spending vast amounts of meko on various PR campaigns; building and maintenance of decent tenements, donations to schools, hiring Freelancers to clear out dangerous sectors, money to outreaches to fund soup kitchens, and the occasional round of coupon books for their chains of Montego Family Armament Boutiques and lines of clothiers. The darker, actual criminal side of the Family is not too difficult to imagine. They place a high value on honor, and expect that anyone who deals with them follow suit. Failure to pay dues or favors back to the Family in a timely manner as per whatever contract has been established tends to result in beatings, the destruction of private property, hostages being taken, sometimes murder. Their casinos have a tendency to be designed, even rigged, to favor the house, and not all of their arms sales are entirely legal. It can be easy to forget that, with all their frontal generosity, that they are still composed largely of professional thugs and killers. The Family's membership is mostly made up of dwarves, dumans, and kampftier, with a minority membership including mechanoids, half-orcs, the occasional lutrosa, and the odd tiefling. Though they are far from bigoted, the dwarvish majority of the Family tends to create rivalries with draconid groups who are likewise inclusive, so there are very few draconid members. The Family's preference for strength of body, skill, and arms has over the years made them suspicious and wary of spellcasters, especially conjurers and necromancers, but exceptions are made for nature-casters whose powers come from the earth rather than the galaxy or the spiritual. They are a very patriotic group, often displaying and encouraging Paradisian nationalism, and discouraging people from buying from foreigners and offworlders, whom they distrust. Not enough mistrust to actively harass such people- unless evidence can be brought to the Don to prove actions must be taken for the good of the City- but they don't usually care for outsider presences except in their stores and casinos. No other group can claim they contribute as much to the defense of Paradise City as the Montego Family. Whenever troubles come to plague the city-state, the Montegos are the first to send their sons and daughters to the Enforcers Guild and request orders for where to fight, who to fight, and how long to fight for. Though they lack the same level of hard military training that the Enforcers enjoy, they possess zeal, patriotism, and a host of creatively underhanded tricks to make up for it. With the passing of the old Don Gustav Montego some two hundred years back, control of the family went to his most capable son, Cedrick Montego. He is an intimidating old dwarf, and well aware of it; far from above using his nature to his advantage in negotiations if he thinks it will benefit the Family. Cedrick is very straightforward and blunt, he has no patience for mind games or beating around the bush, and tends to frown on those who engage in such frivolities. He is cunning to an extent, but generally prefers the most forward and simple approach to solving problems- if he needs something done with finesse, he'll hire someone to do it, he will rarely try to handle it himself, knowing well his shortcomings and flaws. Cedrick demands loyalty and honor from the Family at all times, he is a stickler for proper etiquette and demonstrates it to everyone regardless of their social or political position. Punishments for infractions (failure to show politeness, failure to pay on time, etc) under his rule are brutal but swift, as Cedrick finds slow and drawn out punishments unethical- you make a mistake, you pay for it, everyone moves on. He despises the Norse pantheon, citing that their claims towards close association with the original dwarves is a load of rude expletives, and that those who follow them are fools. For his part he is a Universalian, though he rarely attends Temple services except for funerals, baptisms, and weddings. Recent political maneuvers which have gotten arms discounts for the Temple's Inquisition have led to rumors that he is romantically involved with an unknown priestess. The Montegos are easy to spot on the streets- all members, male or female, wear the very finest dark red, high quality silk business suits, with matching tweed fedoras, and are always armed with high quality weapons- heavy pistols, SMG's, axes, and shortswords are favored the most, with light armor under their suits. The Family's symbol is a simple red circle around an enclosed grey fist. Primary classes: Fighter-types. Initiation into the Montego Family is a simple affair: a pledge of fealty, a demonstration of commitment to honor, and a few drops of blood for a transfusion to seal the initiate for life as a full member. Dragonmark Banking Clan Before the Dragon Wars began, many drakes tried to first set the stage by acquiring necessities. Land, slaves, servants, hoards, so on and so forth. The more sociable dragons often approached mortals, offering them deals and pacts. But no drake was so bold as to actually live amongst them, none save for Treoris. The elder wyrm approached the City and petitioned for the opportunity to set her lair up there, stating that she had no intention of joining her kin in their coming conflict, and wished to develop her own businesses and prosper. As one might expect, this was met with great apprehension, especially from the City's sizeable draconid population. Eventually her requests were granted, with the proviso of strict supervision of the Enforcers- she would be watched more closely than any other faction. And this suited her just fine, reasoning that such oversight would make it impossible to find fault with her and her family's business plans, tactics, and political machinations, which would in turn protect her from accusations made by detractors. Such planning has worked out well. The Dragonmark Clan is small, but it is easily the wealthiest faction in the country. Their business focuses rake in enormous amounts of income. The first and most critical of these businesses was the proposal, introduction, and most importantly acceptance of universal currency- even the Fell Kingdoms make use of the Meko. The reintroduction of paper money- all minted by the Dragonmarks, of course- and plastic magnetic strip scrip cards instead of using heavier bullion-based currencies and trade goods has dramatically improved efficiency of commercial enterprise. Further compounding their success is the development of the Dragon Express Postal Service, an interplanetary mail system employing non-Dragonmark couriers to deliver mail and goods anywhere in the system. Even as PNet slowly becomes more popular, the new internet service only reaches so many places, and the slow progress of computer technologies makes it weaker than what it could be- the Dragon Express is still far more popular, in no small part because of the Clan's affability and inexpensive shipping rates. Even with the heavy taxes levied upon them by the Guild, the Dragonmarks have more wealth than a number of countries do. There is no real 'dark side' to the Dragonmark Clan, unless one counts how they spend their vast income as such. Treoris and most of her brood are bound by instincts rather than ideologies, and Silver Dragons tend to be pleasant creatures. The closest thing to any sort of thorns to the Dragonmarks' rose are their occasional instances of ethically questionable accounting records, and sometimes looking down on the draconid race. Fortunately for the Clan, they seem to have figured out that the draconids are no longer theirs, and must thus treat them as they would any other mortal race. Aside from this, Treoris is known to have a few 'eccentricities' as she likes to refer to them. Foremost of these quirks is the natural draconic instinct to hoard- the Clan eagerly looks to add raw bullions, primarily gold and silver, shiny trinkets, and magical articles to their individual and collective hoards. The Clan does business with no small number of Freelancers to get their hands on even more, which attracts all sorts of treasure hunters and roguish types hoping to profit from the Clan's generous deals. Treoris has led the Clan since its inception into Paradise City, and is likely to continue leading until she is slain or the City destroyed- dragons are, after all, immortal. When dealing with other races, she usually uses her magic to transform herself into whatever race is most prevalent in her meetings- if the audience is mostly humans, she'll be a human. If mostly elves, then an elf, and so on. The only exception to this is mechanoids, she has never been seen taking on that particular form. Treoris claims that she follows a route of pacifism, having no desire to involve herself directly in any conflict unless absolutely necessary, abhorring bloodshed unless it is the only possible solution. But to this there are exceptions- when enemies threaten the City who are pawns of white dragons or Aboleth, she is known to enter a particularly furious rage and become almost zealous in stamping out the threat. But these exceptions aside, Treoris is often likened to a sort of doting aunt figure, regularly checking up on friends and family to make sure they are comfortable and well off, and providing assistance if they aren't. Every decade or so, Treoris is known to adopt a large number of orphaned children of all races from the Four Heavenlies and put them through expensive educations; she never explains why she does this, popular rumor is that she builds a network of spies and followers to help spread her plans, though the only plans anyone has ever been able to think of would be finding newer, better ways to acquire even greater wealth than before. Most of the City's mechanoid population, including Cartwright himself, disbelieve these theories, believing that such actions are the only way Treoris can truly expand her family- she has, by her own words, never had a proper mate, though the existence of half-dragons in the Clan's numbers after such statements have led to more rumors which suggest she's something of a swinger. She is known to be a great lover of mortal artworks, regularly attending and sponsoring various museums, artists, musicians, and concert halls. She also claims to be the biggest anti-grav lacrosse fan alive, her personal lair having many portraits and autographed articles from various players of the sport. The most significant flaw that she is known to have is a powerful aversion to filth, rumor has it that Treoris is such a neatfreak that she spends at least a tenth of the Clan's income on both keeping her holdings immaculately clean and donating to various groups across the Trifecta to help make various nations cleaner and less grimy. Aside from the wyrm herself, the Dragonmark Clan is composed largely of younger drakes, half-dragons, a large following of lo'nou, the children adopted into the family, and people who marry in. While the Clan employs numerous people as accountants, janitors, postmen and women, Freelancers, and so forth; such individuals are merely employees, and not treated or considered as members of the Clan proper. No one has to date ever simply been invited to be a part of it. This provides the Dragonmarks very little actual manpower when situations arise demanding that the City be defended, but these smaller numbers tend to be individually superior to most of the people around them; and only a fool would turn down a skilled Dragon Rider's assistance. The Clan's symbol is a non-descript golden coin set against a silver sky. They favor martial arts, magic, and bows as opposed to costly firearms and melee weapons. Gang Alignments: Good, mostly Neutral Good. Primary Classes: Spellcaster/fighter mixes. Paradise Lovers The Lovers are a young group, only been in power for some twenty years now. The group deals primarily in people; prostitutes, strippers, dancers, waiters, waitresses, people like that. They either own or have a hand in almost every brothel, club, bar, and other sorts of establishment which rely on pretty bodies and faces, across the whole city. By bringing a sense of stability and order to these professions, the Lovers have brought themselves great amounts of wealth and influence- and no small amount of respectability to the City in general. The age of the back alley pimp, where a lonely soul in need of nightly company was gambling with their lives and health, has ended. Their competition, while not non-existent, is feeble by comparison at best; the Lovers are well organized, offer the best benefits, good pay, and promise a work environment free of racial, religious, or social discrimination. Their success speaks for itself, and gives them no small amount of political and social influence in lieu of direct financial might or martial prowess. As one might expect, a faction such as the Lovers draws all sorts of criticisms and accusations. More than a few nasty rumors abound that the Paradise Lovers are involved in all sorts of unpleasant and illegal businesses- slave trafficking, indulging wealthier clientele in more extreme and dangerous perversions, professional kidnappings, assassinations, and blackmail. Such rumors always indicate that with the power the group wields puts in the perfect position for covering its trails with ease, with bribes and favors to protect them from Enforcer scrutiny. No such rumors have yet to be proven true, but they are given strength by the nature of the people in charge. The Paradise Lovers are owned and overseen by the MacDoughall twins; Jeremiah, a tiefling, and Samantha, an aasimar. Their homeland, their origins, even their age is unknown, despite twenty years of people trying to dig up and follow leads. Among the few things people know for certain are that the two share a strange psionic link which lets one be aware of what the other is thinking and doing at all times. This is rumored to lead to situations where one of the twins is aware that the other is always either planning or enacting acts of sexual depravity, and must spend all their time keeping the other out of trouble for their own sake and for the sakes of their potential victims. The trouble with such rumors is that they're never clear which twin is the 'good' twin, and which is the 'bad' twin. The MacDoughalls are not very public people, which led to all new stories about how they could switch minds at any time they pleased, for whatever reasons the storyteller feels like giving. Such stories are again given weight by the twins' nature; whenever both are in very close proximity to each other, a peculiar psychic phenomenon occurs. A new personality takes form, speaking through both of them at the same time. This new entity is known as the Mediator, whose existence may either be some foreign entity which influences the two or could be the result of conflicting personalities merging when the link is at its strongest. The Mediator does not seem to care that others worry about its nature- it has very simple desires and works to see them given life. Stable business ventures, content and productive employees, and a strong economy are all it cares about. This has led to those in positions of power leaving the matter alone.. Provided the MacDoughalls aren't caught getting into trouble, of course. No single faction can claim the same level of racial diversity and equality present in the Paradise Lovers. The only time a pretty face of any species is turned away is if there are legal issues to keep them from being hired on, and induction ceremonies are swift and painless affairs. But despite possessing such a large number of employees, the Lovers provide very little to no direct military support- their people aren't really trained for violence. They're trained to cater to people, to make them feel good, and much is spent on keeping these workers in good health, but very few ever get any real combat training. Instead, the Paradise Lovers provide indirect support, providing assistance to those who fight in other ways. It has become faction standard that all employees must obtain proof of college education specializing in at least one social science and one other major of their choosing- employees must enroll before a period of one year in the Lovers' employ has passed. Members who acquire degrees are expected to open up firms and clinics to assist the City's defenders by helping them through traumatic experiences, before or after neurotic complexes are developed. All of this costs a considerable amount of money, which may be what really drives their lack of racial bias- it has been theorized that they can't afford to turn away potential workers because of accident of birth, they need everyone they can get to help bring in money. The Paradise Lovers have no official favoritism or bias for or against any group, unless a faction attacks them first. If they must be armed, they favor easily concealed weapons- small blades, hand crossbows, light firearms, and magical powers. The Lovers' insignia are the symbols for Male and Female, joined by their hoops, with the little stick parts pointed downward. Primary Alignments: All Neutrals. Primary Classes: Any. Brethren of Rum and Blood The Brethren are, in a word, pirates. But not just any sort of pirates, they consider themselves traditional pirates- their entire way of life is based off a mixture of actual historical literature from the Golden Age of Piracy in Earth's 17th to 18th centuries A.D. and countless pop culture stories about pirates from every period /after/ that era. They have a great fondness for dressing in flamboyant- but functional- clothes with very fancy hats, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, caring little for those who remain landbound, developing a "Scurvy" lingo which is almost a dialect unto itself, and cultivating a reputation as brash, violent people who are not to be crossed. This and their strict adherence to the Code of Blood, a code which all Brethren must follow or face expulsion, ridicule, and humiliation, has made them strong, and their specializations have made them wealthy. These pirates are a combination economic and military force, serving the City as both privateers who protect the seas, skies, and local space, and handle the lion's share of transport operations both cargo and personnel by those routes to other regions. Bulk transit in and out of City borders is a considerably profitable endeavor- perhaps one of the most profitable- but there are responsibilities that go with it that most of the Brethren find terribly boring. The Enforcers demand that the Brethren provide all possible assistance with legal matters involving identification, passports, and smuggling; such activities have a tendency to get foisted off onto a crew's first mate or land-bound accountants, unless contraband is found that crews can take from smugglers for themselves. This has led to tense relations with the Enforcers Guild for as long as both groups can remember- as has the Brethren's superstition-based racial biases. The Brethren are very superstitious, certain things just aren't done by most captains for fear of bringing Bad Luck (the worst possible sort) down upon their ships. While each ship has its own legends and luck routines, a few things remain constant for all: their crews almost never take on members of the dwarvish, mechanoid, lutrosan, xizuthian, kelthid, novimfal, or ssilran races- such creatures are unlucky things, especially on the seas, they are believed to be unfit for anything but land-based duties. Homage is paid to many gods related to weather and terrain, especially ones the crew doesn't worship, in the hopes of currying favor for safe and calm travel. Keeping dead bodies on board for any length of time greater than a week is also frowned upon unless the ship is being used specifically for transporting the dead. And killing any sea bird that isn't large enough to pose a genuine threat to the ship and its crew is a sin worthy of beatings, as such actions are believed to offend the spirits of the seas and skies. The Brethren are not a very well organized group, as they believed that too much centralized control and authority would hamper the organization's growth and ability to operate. They are instead ruled by a circle of Captains who individually possess the greatest wealth and most powerful ships, known as the Rummy Council. Membership is not constant, it has a habit of changing almost yearly as Captains either die off or gain and lose power; only three have been members for more than a decade- Captains Almus Mathias, Israel Brokenhands, and Shiela Galleus. But even these possess no more power and influence than their counterparts, all are equal in the Council's halls. But it is the Council alone which keeps something resembling order amongst the Brethren through a precise mixture of brutality, rewards, liquor, and the occasional pillaging of non-allied ships. The current Council numbers seventeen, but there are dozens of lesser captains eager to prove their worth and earn themselves a spot on the Council.. And some would be all too happy to prove their worth through force if need be. Membership in the Brethren is fairly easy- basic skills relating to whatever craft a crew rides around on and being any of the races not listed above are more or less the only real criterion. The flag of the Brethren of Rum and Blood is a black and red flag bearing a human skull with two bottles crossed beneath it, often known as the "Drunken Roger." The Brethren prefer various sorts of firearms, curved blades, and crossbows in close combat, and light- or even no- armor. Primary Alignments: Officers are usually Lawfuls or Neutrals. Non-officers tend to be Chaotics. Primary Classes: Rogues, Sorcerers, Bards, Rangers, Gunslingers. Candy Men Like the Montego Family, the Candy Men have been around the City for quite some time, having been established shortly after the City itself was. It was founded by the Akaluts, but has since passed to the capable (and somewhat crazy) hands of Bamidele Akaluts, the last surviving member of the family. The Candy Men, before and after the 'presidency' of Bamidele, have survived less by virtue of strength of arms, political machinations, or social influences and more by absolute necessity. They are the group which handles almost all foodstuffs and recreational and pharmaceutical drugs in Paradise City, not to mention treats of almost every type imaginable. The Candy Men's skill with agriculture is effectively the only source of food for the City outside of imports- they alone control and, more importantly, know how to operate the last remaining hydroponics facilities that weren't destroyed by the ravages of time. Outside of that necessity they dominate the consumables industry with considerable skill at business negotiation, and their control of the City's spaceport grants them a lot of power by having a say in who gets to take off and land at Nessia. While not the wealthiest faction, their controls ensure that they maintain a nice, high, comfortable position on the City's socioeconomic ladder. The nature of the company's work demands that most of its profits be reinvested back into itself; ensuring product quality isn't cheap, and neither is meeting the Enforcers few regulations regarding food and drug safety. Further expenses are incurred by the nature of the Candy Men as individuals- there is a level of eccentricity, generosity, cleverness, imagination, and good-heartedness that Bamidele himself demands of all employees. This is not cheap by any means, as full fledged Candy Men, as opposed to common workers who handle the public shops, are expected to apply their imaginations to create new pharmaceutical and culinary delights. It's almost a requirement that they pick up the arts of spellcraft, chemistry, and alchemy to augment their dishes and drugs, and that incurs further costs as they tend to require exotic reagents and components- most often obtained with Freelancer assistance. And then there is the necessity of PR and commercialism, and a fair amount is invariably spent on charity and donations. At the end of the fiscal year, after all expenses and payrolls have been doled out, the faction has very few excess funds left over. The president of the Candy Men is a very isolationist sort, which is odd for a halfling. Bamidele Akaluts does not like going into public very often, citing that he is far too old to stress himself to death over matters of politics and economics. He doesn't go to see people, they come to see him- which is somewhat intimidating as he sequesters himself in a large and- aside from himself- completely uninhabited block of the Nessia Spaceport, with no family or friends to keep him company, only his work. Those who have spoken with him claim that he is the archetypal Candy Man- every bit as generous, kind, and eccentric as people expect him to be. It's almost impossible to ask questions about him and his personal life, because he always finds a way to deflect such questions and turn them back on his visitors, supposedly having a great love of stories and hearing about the personal lives of those he meets. On those rare occasions he leaves the spaceport, he seems to wander aimlessly, dressed in the most outlandish clothes he has available with his pockets stuffed full of treats and bits of money that he freely gives out to the impoverished with no strings attached. It is rumored that he has a great love of the Earth's legendary Sinterklaas, to the point where he uses magic to make himself invisible and spy on people, leaving presents in the homes of the worthy and needy. For the most part people forget old Bamidele even exists unless he goes out on one of his little jaunts, but those who do keep him in mind are known to be wary and suspicious of him. At no point in his long life can anyone ever recall seeing him angry or cross so much as once; the closest thing he has ever demonstrated to anger is when he quietly votes in favor of executing high profile criminals convicted of heinous crimes and inflicting suffering on the young. This makes his competitors and rivals in the major factions wary, sometimes to the point of fear- who can what horrors he might unleash if he was pressed so far as to actually lose his seemingly infinite patience, what monstrous temper might wait behind a facade of friendliness? There aren't many who wish to find out, so Bamidele is generally left in peace to his own devices. Which may be all he wants. The Candy Men are easy to spot- they have a tendency to stand out, in fact. The official members are often seen working with common, uninitiated employees at various grocers markets, sweets shops, and novelty stores, providing the City's inhabitants with all the food, treats, and (legal) drugs they can afford. The uniforms are colorful but simple when they're on the clock: roomy, loose fitting trousers, blouses, vests, and hats, all dyed with bright colors, sometimes with similarly colored aprons. Those who work in food departments wear blues and greens. Confectioners are marked by violets and indigos. Chemists get oranges and reds. And factory workers and uninitiated personnel wear whites and yellows. While not possessed of any racial biases towards employees, it is exceedingly rare to see kampftier, dwarves, half-orcs, or xizuthie in their employ; these races do not often possess the necessarily eccentric mindset demanded of Candy Men agents. If they must be armed, they wield simple collapsible weapons for self defense, such as light maces or canes that unfold into staves, but whenever possible they try not to handle problems with violence. If an issue arises which demands bloodshed, they prefer to hire Freelancers to solve the problem. The group's symbol is a rainbow made of fruits, vegetables, and gumdrops. Primary Classes: Bards, Sorcerers. Primary Alignments: Any Good. Back to Paradise City Back to Main Page